As many of you know, I’ve been documenting how difficult it can be for a self-published author to promote their books consistently when you’ve also got a day-job. There are many tools on the web that can help the self-published man or woman, but many require a fair amount of time up front.

Finally, back into the swing of things. I promised myself I’d get going by March. Well, it’s March! My post today isn’t too long, but it focuses on one of the biggest challenges facing a new author – one without prior book sales or a person who (like me) sees bumps from new books but not earth shattering sales numbers.

So how do you budget for a new book? If you’ve published books previously, you’ll already have your guidelines. For me, an average ‘budget’ for a new book looks something like this…

Editing ~$2000

Formatting/Cover Art/Illustrations ~$750*

Publishing/Proofreading/Copyright Fees, etc ~$100

Advertisements, Giveaways, Shipping ~$150

So as you can see, nearly $3,000. Definitely a long term haul. Obviously, your experiences may vary based on editor, cover art/illustrators (or lack thereof), and how much advertisements/giveaways, etc that you do.

Editing – Your costs for editing can vary based on how much of a book you have, and how good of a writer you are. Most editors will be nice, and lower their price slightly (in my experience) the better the initial writing is. The less work they have to do, the faster they can do it in, and the more jobs they can complete, so they’re happy too.

I wouldn’t suggest skimping on editing, but you could easily save yourself some money through extensive use of beta-readers and friends/family who have skills (Also, it helps to bake brownies).

Formatting/Cover Art/Illustrations – All this can easily be trimmed in most aspects. Formatting – you can learn this, especially considering that most of the big companies use only a handful of formats – The catch is if you get it wrong, your work will look super unprofessional.

Cover Art – Shop around! You can check out a variety of people and places – look up some books whose covers your like and email the authors to ask where they got theirs done. Unless you’re a really good artist, I recommend you not do them yourself – Online, people really DO judge a book by it’s cover.

Illustrations/Maps – Perhaps the easiest one – If you don’t need them, you don’t have to pay for them!

Advertisements – Here, your own readers and social media accounts can really help you. Although, it can be hard to cut through the chaff and find the perfect groove. Networking, like this recent Facebook group I’ve joined, can really help here. You don’t have to pay for readers/likes, etc. I’ve already shared how I felt Facebook advertising, but both Amazon, Google, Goodreads, and others have more targeted (and, personally speaking, more useful) advertisement abilities).

Publishing Fees – Especially if you’re publishing a print book, you can’t really get around theses. But be smart – make sure to check the physical proof copies before buying a big order, otherwise you could be out some serious money for books with errors that are glaring! Also, there’s something to be said for getting that sweet, sweet Copyright letter from the Library of Congress!

Hope that helps everyone! Whew – this post turned out to be longer than I thought! Let me know – what other ways do you have to trim costs?

As I sit here in my office relaxing as my beta readers dismantle Iron Tribune (Hopefully for the best!), I’m also planning Steel Praetorian. So far, I’ve planned out the first four chapters. Chapter one will be included in Iron Tribune, but I won’t even let my beta readers see that 🙂

(Sometime in May, based on how long editing takes, formatting should begin)

Sometime in June, send out all rewards, post Iron Tribune to Amazon, Etc

Here’s what I’m thinking for Kickstarter Funding Levels

$1 – Big Thank You + Name in Acknowledgements

$10 – Digital Copy of Iron Tribune and one of my two novellas

$20 – Digital Copy of all novels + novellas

$30 – Signed Print Copy of Iron Tribune (Plus all the above)

$50 – Signed Print Copies of all three novels

$100 – Create a Character (Create a character in Steel Praetorian, including how he/she dies)

I think the funding goal would be $500. What do you all think of this? I suppose I could bump it up a bit to include shipping, or I could have ‘rest of the world’ backers up their shipping as well. Totally would like some feedback please!

Antioch Burns will probably be uploaded sometime this next week! I’m so excited! Last thing on my plate is the website and webstore blurbs. Take a look at the two options below and let me know what you think!

After fiddling with iMovie and Youtube, I’ve successfully placed the radio interview I did with Global Talk Radio on youtube. If you have a moment, pop over and listen to it!

Also, I’m currently in the hunt for some advanced review copy readers for Copper Centurion. If you’re interested in getting a free book, plus an awesome free digital booklet of all the Steam Empire Chronicles artwork, leave me a message and I’ll deliver it right to your door! If you like it, I’d love for you to review the novel and tell the world about it on Amazon, Apple, B&N, your choice 🙂

As soon as I get word back from my illustrators that the illustrations are ready to be inserted into the novel, I’ll be asking for some people willing to do a book tour (I’m thinking April, so keep your schedules open, te-he!)

(As part of my ramp up to publish day in mid-May, I’ve embarked upon a mission to introduce readers to my characters and the world they live in. These are their stories. Dun dunn)

Our hero at work.

D.O: Good afternoon Julius, welcome to my humble abode.

J.C. Thanks for having me. It’s good to get out of Brittenburg sometime.

D: Glad you could make it. I’ve got some great questions for you today.First and foremost, any history behind your name?

J: I knew you would ask that one. Actually yes, my parents did name me after that Julius Caesar. You know him, savior of the Empire, ancestor of the dynasty, most successful general ever, that sort of thing.

D: But what about the Brutus part?

J: Mom thought it was important to recognize the savior of the great emperor as well. After all, Brutus did take the knife intended for Caesar after warning his legions about the impending assassination attempt. So there’s my name, Julius Brutus Caesar. And believe me, there’s been a rare few moments to thank them for that. You wouldn’t believe the amount of teasing a boy gets for having such a name.

D: I can only imagine. Glad to see you made it through that. Tell me about your family. Did they like you joining the legions?

J: Ha, dad was livid when I told him I was signing up. Mom had to talk him down. I think that my argument about sending my sister, Marciena, to school with my signing bonus might have helped win him over. Of course, Mom arguing about how it was a peacetime army definitely helped too. Don’t think they foresaw the… troubles later.

D: I would ask about that, but then there’d be no point of reading the book!

J: Well, only if people aren’t interested in a tale of awesome adventure, drama, battles, espionage, assassination and revolution, then I guess you could ask, but hopefully people like those things.

J: The tribune? He’s a good guy, once you get to know him. Honestly, at first, we all thought he was some puffed up buffoon from the capital. Nice clothing, trying to act all friendly when it was actually just really awkward, you know.

D: Actually I don’t, but I’ll take your word on it.

J: Yea? Well he may have been an odd ball at first, but he certainly wasn’t as bad as some of those other officers you hear about in the broadsheets or in the mess hall. The ones who get their soldiers killed. The tribune’s a really good man to have in a fight. He doesn’t shirk from danger, regardless of his background. If I had a denarii for every time I had to save his behind from danger…

D:Speaking of danger, what are some of the dangers you face in this book?

J: You trying to give away the whole book? Gah! And you’re the author too! Well, suffice to say that we get tapped to be testers of a ‘new type of war’ experiment that gets tested a lot sooner than it was expected too. Definitely an odd feeling to be lugging your sword and shield onto your average military dirigible, but it’s also an awesome feeling when you finally are able to – wait a second! I’m giving the story away!

D: That’s it? Nothing more!?

J: If you really want to learn more, you’ll have to subscribe to the blog and wait for details about the release date. Or you can download the first chapter here for free. The book is coming out sometime in May for goodness sakes!

D: Well there you have it folks, an interview with one of the heroes of Brass Legionnaire, Julius Brutus Caesar. Check back in soon, as we’ll be interviewing the legionnaire’s commanding officer, Tribune Constantine Tiberius Appius, sometime this week.